We’ve been working closely with world-renowned overclockers to push the Ryzen 7 2700X to the brink on the Crosshair VII Hero. Elmor has already set a new record for the AM4 reference clock, decimating the old mark of 151.56MHz with an incredible 240.61MHz. TheOverclocker has claimed records for peak Ryzen CPU frequency with 6GHz on not only a single core, but also all eight cores and 16 threads. Top scores have also fallen in key benchmarks for eight-core CPUs, with TheOverclocker setting the fastest time in GPU PI for CPU 1B, and Der8auer hitting the top of the Geekbench3 leaderboard.

Precise voltage is vital when you’re on the edge, so the Hero tracks important rails from the best spot on the power plane, and it uses differential sensing to ensure accurate readings from both software and the onboard ProbeIT measurement points. Most motherboards rely on single-ended sensing tapped from a location that isn’t ideal, making it more difficult to gauge exactly how much voltage is being supplied to your components.

With eight onboard headers for fans and pumps, the Hero has the cooling credentials to match its overclocking aspirations. It’s ready for custom liquid loops thanks to a high-amperage pump header that can push up to 3A, plus additional headers for monitoring coolant temperatures and flow rate. If you somehow run out of places to connect fans, the board works with the ASUS Fan Extension card, which supports even more fans and temperature probes.